"If all of us can see more business coming over to the Gulf hubs, that is good for everyone," said James Hogan, chief executive officer of Etihad, which celebrated its fourth anniversary Monday.
"The opportunity for Gulf airlines is that the [travel] hubs of the world are changing," thanks to technological development, which has vastly increased flight range and plane capacity, he said in an interview.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), passenger demand in the Middle East grew 17.8 percent in the first half of 2007 - the highest rate globally.
Emirates and Etihad are the only Middle East carriers which fly to Australia. "Our Sydney service is one of the quickest ways to Europe," Hogan said.
Owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Etihad carried 2.8 million passengers in 2006, a massive jump from 340,000 in 2004.
Between 60 percent and 70 percent of Etihad's passengers transit through Abu Dhabi to Asia and Australia, Hogan said. Etihad now serves 45 destinations, compared to 16 in 2004, out of the relatively small Abu Dhabi airport.
"The airport is a bit tight during peak time ... We are very excited about the new airport," he said, referring to a $7-billion project to expand the airport capacity to handle 40 million passengers a year.
The airport handled 5.4 million passengers in 2005, and looks to transport 20 million in 2010 when the first phase of its development is complete.
Neighboring Dubai already has the busiest airport in the Middle East, with a throughput of 28.7 million passengers in 2006, while Emirates carried 17.5 million passengers in the financial year 2006-07.
Etihad operates a fleet of 32 planes, including six Boeing jets, while Airbus accounts for the rest. It expects to take delivery of new aircraft between 2008 and 2011 to increase its fleet to 42 aircraft.
But it has no plans to announce more orders during the five-day Dubai air show which starts Sunday.
"We did a pretty good job at the Paris air show" in June, Hogan said, referring to a $2.2-billion order for 12 Airbus planes: four A340-600s, five A330 passenger aircraft, and three A330 freighters.
Emirates, on the other hand, has a young fleet of 110 aircraft, and has placed orders worth billions of dollars for new aircraft, including 55 super-jumbo A380s.
It could also order 100 more wide-sized planes during the Dubai show.
Etihad said in June it agreed with Airbus to defer the delivery of its four A380s to 2013, instead of 2009. The largest airliner ever built made its maiden commercial flight last week after several delays.
Hogan said Etihad is not trying to catch up with Emirates, which was established in 1985 and has pioneered growth in the Middle East air travel market.
"Guys down the road [in Dubai] have done a great job, but they started over 20 years ago. We can't catch up in four years," he said.
But like the Dubai-owned Emirates, Etihad denies being subsidized by the Abu Dhabi government, which is its sole shareholder.
"We have no open cheque books. No free fuel ... We have to go to the market to raise finance for these aircraft," he said, adding that the company's target is to break even in 2010.
"We are on track to achieve that," he said confidently, as total revenues are forecast to reached $1.25 billion in 2007, compared to $780 million in 2006.
But Hogan does not appear keen on raising capital through floating the company, saying it is too early. "It's premature ... We are a brand new company," he said.
© 2007 Agence France-Presse
To add a comment,
Please log in:
Don't have an account?
Register now to comment on stories and stay up to date on important events and issues in the Middle East with our newsletter.